Prospects for payday lending regulation decline

It’s dangerous to declare a bill dead, but the payday lending/auto title regulation bill is showing signs of poor health:

First, Rep. Mike Villarreal, D-San Antonio, the House sponsor, tweeted over the weekend that he was looking beyond the current legislative session: “Planning interim. Will travel state to advance payday auto title ordinances one city at a time with Coalition for Fair Lending.

Then yesterday, this Villarreal Facebook post conveyed more frustration: “After months of work on payday and auto title lending reform, it’s hard to accept that we may not have the votes to move forward with meaningful protections for consumers. Texas has a long history of free markets, but we also have a long history of protecting consumers from usury. Our state’s current approach to payday and auto title lending is a break from that honorable tradition. Our most vulnerable citizens pay the price. I’m still working to find a path forward.”

And Tuesday, Villarreal issued a press release with the bill’s Senate sponsor, Sen. John Carona, R-Dallas, calling a news conference to “join with consumer advocates in urging the legislature to pass meaningful payday and auto title lending reform legislation this session. The legislators filed companion legislation to restrict the size of loans based on borrowers’ income, limit the number of refinances, and establish other important consumer protections. The Senate has approved the legislation, Senate Bill 1247, and now a compromise version of the bill is awaiting a vote in the House Committee on Investments and Financial Services. ”

Will the press conference be a wake for a dead bill? Or will Carona and Villarreal successfully pressure the House committee to pass the legislation? The answer will determine how Villarreal spends his summer “vacation.”